HOUSTON – A 32-year-old U.S. citizen has died after being arrested by Border Patrol agents in South Texas, the U.S. government said Wednesday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not identify the man in a statement issued Wednesday, but alleged that he was a suspect in a human smuggling incident. The man was arrested at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday by agents assigned to the Border Patrol station in Brackettville, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of the border with Mexico.
CBP said the man “began exhibiting signs of distress” at about 6 p.m., while he was being processed in Brackettville. Agents trained as emergency medical technicians “immediately administered first aid” and eventually called local emergency services, CBP said. The man was taken to the hospital at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday and pronounced dead at 9:37 p.m.
The agency did not identify the man's illness, symptoms or cause of death, which was first reported by BuzzFeed News.
The Border Patrol does not ordinarily detain U.S. citizens, but it routinely arrests Americans accused of trying to smuggle immigrants who have crossed the border illegally. Those arrested can be charged with a felony in federal court.
The agency did not immediately provide the circumstances of the man’s arrest or the allegations against him.